Sound-damping device for talking-machines.



n. L. sunjan I SOUND DAMFING DEVICETUB TALKING MACHINES.

APPLICATION HLED lu'fl'f'la. 1911.

1,254,447. Patented Jan. 22, 19121 wanna-Iggy ATTORNEYS DAVID L. SUITEB, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SOUND-DAMPIIlTG DEVICE FOR TALKING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letter: Patent.

Patented J an. 22, 1918.

when filed Inn: 13, 1911". Serial No. 174,415.

Tonlliokom itmay concern:

Be it known that LDAvm L. a citizen of the United States, residing 1n the city and county of Philadelphia, State .of- Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Sound-Damping Device for Talking-Machines, of which thefollowing isa specification. a

This inventionrelates to the class of devices which are applied to phonographs or talking machines of the'type; in which the record is a circular disk, and in which are embodied in connection withthe casing a tone arin' leading to the amplifier, carrying at its outer end a goose-neck deflectably applied to it and carrying at its end beyond its connection with-'the tone arm the soundbox. a My invention 'eom rehends 'a. means for mod1fying-the "soun by controlling and modifying the pitch and volume of sound while the instrument .is being played, and

it contemplates the application of sound modifying devices to t e gooseneck as near as ssible-to the source of sound or the conlrgiection of the soundbox with the goose nee certain device of a enera y similar character,-which forms t e subject of a pending application of mine filed upon the 24th day of October, 1916, Serial No. 127393.

In the foregoing application, I haveapplied to the outer end of the goose-neck very close to the attachment of the sound-box a disk-like or a butterfly valve, controlled by a lever externally connectedwith1 the valve axis or stem, which iscontrolled by an op crating cord extending back from the outer extremity of the valve lever through a controlling eye on the axis of the connection of the inner end of the goosc-neckwith theouter end of: the tone arm and then extendin rearwardl through a throat or cord guide: mounte' in alinement with the axis duit.

My inventionis a'n implrovement upon a. hr 1 h l t oug 1 t e we closing plate which itself either partly orcompletely closes a lateral valve throat 'formed through the wall of the sound con- My resent invention also contemplates dispenslng with the guiding cord eye on the axis of the connection of the goose-neck with the tone arm as in my application referred to, and so forming or bending and extending the valve-operating lever as to make it possible for the operating cord to extend from the outer free end of said lever rearwardly arid directly into and through the throat or cord guide which is in alinement with and over the axis of the tone arm, without thepossibility in the pull of said cord of deflecting the goose-neck and soundbox as an entirety with reference to the axis of connectlon of the goose-neck with the tone-arm. I

lVith the foregoing primary objects in .v-iew, my inventioncomprehends a valve of the general character hereinafterdescribed and claimed, which is applied within the soundbox end of the goose-neck and opcrates in its deflection to' open or close a valve throat, formed laterally through the walls of the goose-neck, or, if desired,

tending from 'the rear of the sound-box and fitted to 'be locked upon the outer end of the gooseqleck in the manner well understood in talking machines of thecharacter to which my invention relates- My invention further comprehends the apreferred to, of a. sound-absorbing or sounddampening substance, which otcludes the valve throat and serves when the valve is open to dampen such volume of sound as may emerge through the valve throat laterally into the atmosphere and not be wholly carried through the goosemeck, tone arm and amplifier.

My invention further comprehends the des of a tubular. extension ex- 'plication to the cxterionof the valve throat tails of construction and arrangement represented in the accompa'nying drawings and hereinafter described and claimed.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in the drawings types and, embodiments of it which are at present preferred by me because in ractice they have given satisfactory and reliable results.

It is to be understood, however, that the various components in which my invention is shown embodied, can be variously arbeing shown, '.in closed pos tion 'inthe sense that the tubular valve'plate'cl'oses' the valve throat and the plate carrying' disk 'is'in the position which permits'the entire'vol'ume of sound to pass. through the="goose-'neck.

Fig. 4.- 1s a transverse,1horizontal section on' the dotted lineh t-Iii Fig."3. v y

Fig. 5 is a'iview similar to"Fig'.j3,iillusltrating, however," the valvein "o (imposition in the sense thatall of thef'soundiis deflected from the channel of thegoose neck, through the valve throatjandhgainstand through the sound 'deadening s'ubstancq Fig. 6 is a perspectivej'viw'fo f the valve as shown in Figsil and'3, removed from the- Fig. IS a topplan' view'ofa'portion of the goo'se-neck,. I fied construction of myjalve.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of ,thegoose-neck applied'thereto.

Similar numerals "of reference indicate corresponding parts; v

theldrawings,- 1 represents atypical sound-box, 2 a typical goose-neck, and 3 "a typical tone-arm, which latter is mounted and swingableupona base 4"applied in tl efusualmanner to the motor-covering plate of the casing, upon which plate the recOrdcarrying table is mounted.

5,-in Fig.' 1., designates a tubular bayonetlocking extension of the sound-box, which isfitted in the usual manner over an outer end of -the goose-neck, the inner end of which latter is pivotally hubhed at 6 to the outer end of the tone-arm.

7 is a circular disk valve of external diameter slightly less than the internal diameter of the goose-neck, so that a close fit exists between the external periphery of the disk and the internal circumference of the neck. This disk valve is preferably corrugated across its inner face as shown and is mounted for turning upon an axis 8', which extends through and has its bearings within both walls of the goose-neck, and, in the constrnction shown, also through both adjacent walls of the sound-box extension 5. One

end of this axis is either itself extended so as'to form, or has applied to it, a valve is ver 9, which is bent to the form best indicated in Fig. 2, and at its outer end is providcd-preferably with a cord eye 10120 which is connected one end of an operating cord 11, which extends rearwardly and :passes through a throat or cord'guide 12 shown asv conveniently mounted upon an adjustable bracket 13 springing from the casing, but

which may be mountedupon'theupper head of theaxis withreference to'which=the=tone arm has its swingingmovement.

The bracket illustrated-is simply a convenient form of device to which I do notl 14 is a lever-controlling ably of spiral characten as to one eIlIitPQI- tionwrapped around-the lower (portion of,

the valve: lever '9 and connected.- therewith,

position "shown in Eigs'. I11 :aiid 3,- inz which the disk occupies the o en positionshownin' Fig. 3.

Formed as 'a part; 'o-f,.'or. connected with;

the {disk valve is a tubular" va'lve;.;plate'rl, asf-I term it, which-possesses extei'iiallx a cylindric form correspondent to ;the internal cylindricffo'rmmf zaf 'wall of the jgoose neckf,

Through this wall is formed" a lateral ,valye throat l7;'adapted' to hecompletely.closed. M

by the tubular closingfplatel fof the-waive when the 'disk' and plate are in the position represented inlEig. 3, and adapted-.aalsog to be entirely. o ened-or freed from-the valve 1 plate when t e sented in Fig. 5.

.Superpose'd: upon 7 extension'5,- or: upon the outer end iOf the diskis in the position; reprei v goose-neck when the yalvethroatzis ;formed in it,-is 'a mass or form of sound-deadening or soundabsorbing substance 18, {theigfunca tion of 'which,'as already .explainedwis to modify the pitch and volume-of the sound which passes laterally 'th'rough the valve.

throat 17' when that throat is open bythe deflection away "from it of the'tubulan-clos. ingplate'lfi ofthe valve through-the action of the valve lever 9 sented in Fig. 5.

or a compositc'of layers of felt 191'andof tin foil 20. It is immaterial what thesub stance may beso long as? it performs-the into the position 'repre-.

This sound-deadening substance he any character,--for instance, a massof feltfunction of sound-ahsorption or'deadening; a

It is further immaterialhow the mass may be applied to encompass and occlude-the;

waive throat, I find it, convenient, however,-

to fasten it to the exterior of the throat; or aroundithe exterior of the tubular ex.

tension 5 asshown in Fig. 1, or the outer end of the goose-neck as shown in Fig, 3, by clamping bands 21 of brass or other material.

In Figs. 7 and 8, .I have shown a modified form of valve which in efiect is the tubular valve plate 16 of Figs. 3,4, and'5, without or independei'lt of the disk valve '7, and have marked it 22.

The mounting of this closing plate is-by means of an axis that I have marked 23,

Wl'llCh is' fixedly hubbed through -plate eyes 24.

FIn'this construction, I have shown the valve plate 22 as externally coated or covered with sound deadening substance desig* nated 25, which is conveniently formed or shaped to fill the valve throat 1'7, and whichmay be of such dimensions as also tofill a chambered recess 26 onthe inner face of the valve-throat-occluding sound-deadening substance 18. -This of course is a non-essential. I l

In this particular construction, one end of the valve axis 23 is extended to form or has connected with it an operating rod 27, Fig. 7, which extends rcarwardly in such position as to overlap oroverhang thevalveoperating lever 28, which is bent to form a shoulder 29, which latter, acting against the operating rod when the lever 28- is thrown from the full line position of Fig. 7 to the dotted line position, serves to movethe valve plate from the open position shown in Fig; .8,

and to the left in.Fig. 1, to the closed position shown to the right in Fig. 7. In other words, this form of valve which dispenses with the disk is thefull equivalent of the combined construction, because in its own properbody'it subserves all of the functions of the combined disk 7 and tubular closing plate 16 of the first construction.

From the foregoing description of the device as an entirety, the operation of opening and closing the valve in connection with a valve throat occluded by sound deadening substance will have been fully understood.

It will also be understood; that the operation of the valve through the operating cord,--Which can be effected by a person Sit ting at a distance from the machinc,-Will effect the control of the tone of the instrument wholly at the will of the person operating the cord, and will always be such that no lnatter'what the position of the tone arm or lever may be, the cord when pulled will always clear the goose-neck and always pass over a horizontal axial line through the rear of the goose-neck,with the result that the cord cannot possible alter the position of the sound-box.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:- 1. In a sound the character recited,the combination of a sound conduit having a valve throat opening when the closing plateuncovers the throat the disk closes the sound conduit,-and

means for controlling the valve.

3. In a sound roducing apparatus of the character recite ,--the combination with a sound conduit having a valve throat opening laterally through it,- of a valve consisting of a disk and a tubular closing plate so arranged with relation to the "alve throat that when the closing plate uncovers the threat the disk closes the sound conduit, means for controlling the valve,--and a sound deadening substance occluding the exterior of said valve throat,

' DAVID L. SUITER.

In the resence of- J. ENSAN TAYLOR, C. D. MGVAY.

reproducing apparatus of 

